• All Files

4. Mari 4 - The Mari Project Hierarchy

Part of Mari 4 - Fundamentals and Best Practice.

Contents:

In the Video:

• Initial project set up and tips for speed

• The hierarchy of Objects, Channels and Layers

Test Your Knowledge

1.   How do you create a new channel?
ClosedReveal answer

In the Channels palette, you can right-click and Add Channel, or click the Add Channel icon in the lower left Channels palette window, or from the navigation menu, select Channels > Add Channel.

2.   How do you create a procedural color layer in a channel?
ClosedReveal answer

From the Channel palette, double-click a layer to open a window for the layer structure. In the layer window click on the procedural layer icon and then select Basic > Color. Alternatively from the top navigation menu, select Layers > Add Procedural Layer > Basic > Color.

Exercise

1.   Create a new layer in the base color channel called color X.
2.   Press P to select the paint tool.
3.   Change the paint brush color to red. Paint some red onto the model.
4.   Now rotate the model to see if the paint was baked down. If not, press Ctrl+Z until you are in the original position where painting began, then press B to bake the paint to the model.
5.   Rotate the model to see the paint applied to the model.
6.   Add a procedural noise layer of your choice on top of the color X layer. Adjust the noise level to .175 and change the blend mode of the noise layer to multiply.

Practice

Create a new project in Mari and load in the .obj asset provided. Explore the new project tabs and select different channel and light options.

When you move into the canvas, spend time with the UI. Change your navigation preferences if needed, pin different palettes, try dragging and dropping palettes into different areas of the UI.

Spend at least 15 to 20 minutes exploring and rearranging the UI. Create channels and layers and rename them to common layer names that you might normally use.

Finally, reset the UI layout using the View menu and selecting Default layout. You can choose to save or just close the project when finished.